Chance Encounter Leads Hundreds of Family Members to Reunite

The Bangalore Mirror newspaper of Bangalore, India, ran a story this past July that documents one man’s project that he created in Landmark Education’s Self-Expression and Leadership Program. The man, a software engineer named Makarand Purohit, created an enormous family reunion of hundreds of people after a chance encounter led him to realize that he had a huge family that he didn’t even know. Here are parts of the Mirror’s story:

A software engineer’s coincidence meeting with a stranger helps him stumble into a family tree that spans three generations; he sets out to reunite 134 members of his family at a common place

A software engineer’s chance meeting with a ‘total stranger’ has helped him bring together 134 members of his family spanning three generations.

Makarand Purohit , an employee at Elucido Media Network, began a conversation with a stranger in a mall. Nothing unusual, except that that ‘stranger’ was his cousin. That incident prompted him to hold a reunion for his entire family.

REKINDLING TIES

Purohit, 25, then embarked upon his pet project, ‘Milana’, bringing together his entire family, so no one is ignorant of its existence.

“Not only are families, the world itself is getting smaller. If you ask someone about their family, they would, in all probability, say they are just three or four members. Many times, they are not even aware who their cousins are,” said Purohit.

“One day, I went to a super mart and being a weekend there was a long queue at the billing counter. So I struck up a conversation with a young man beside me. After some time, we both realised we were related,” said Purohit.

BOOST TO ‘PROJECT’

Drawing inspiration from the incident, he decided to sit with his uncle and trace their family tree. “As I chalked out our family tree, we found it had 134 members spanning three generations. I realised I knew only about 50 of them,” he said.

Even as he was planning a reunion, his plans received a boost, thanks to the institution where he was doing a programme in self-expression and leadership. “My institution, Landmark Education Breakthrough Technology, asked us to do a project. It was a community-based project and I chose family as my community. I chalked out the logistics and started working on the reunion planned for August 8 and 9,” said Purohit.

ACTIVITIES IMPORTANT

Purohit asked his cousins to help him out. “I have teamed up with my cousins to invite and reunite nearly 150 members. The reunion will take place at an ancestral temple.

Purohit said it was not enough to just meet, but activities that strengthen the family bonds are also required. “The temple in which the reunion will take place does not have water. So the members will have to draw water from a nearby well, and that is what I want them to do. The camaraderie between members, especially children, will be infectious,” he said.

Purohit has invited Raghavendra Joshi to sing on the occasion. A collection of all the important photographs of the family will be unveiled and made available to everyone,” he said.

Sometimes relatives, given the past history of the family, might not want to be part of the reunion. Purohit, however, said “There might be 100 reasons not to be part of the reunion, but if you look back at the happy moments shared, then you will find 101 reasons to make an appearance.”

REUNION CONSULTANTS

This engineering alumni plans to take the reunion formula beyond his family. “My team is willing to help anyone interested in getting their families together. We can be reunion consultants. We will be more than happy to help families mend their cracks,” Purohit added.

Landmark Links

Story categories:

Story categories:

Landmark Forum Graduates – Making a Difference in the World

People who take part in Landmark's programs usually go out and take action on what really matters to them. One thing that most people have in common is the desire to make a difference for others and in the world, and thus many Landmark graduates endeavor to contribute to their communities in some fashion.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
A major purpose of this website is to showcase the difference being made by Landmark graduates, their projects, as well as Landmark itself. We research these projects and the people who created them so that they are available all in one place.
TAKE SOME TIME TO LOOK AROUND
This site is continually growing and we add to it as time allows. Start with our Recent Stories, or play one of the videos about Landmark graduates that we have found out on the internet. If we are accomplishing our goal, then when you leave this site, you will be inspired to go out and make a difference yourself!
SUBSCRIBE
If you like this site, you can subscribe to Landmark News using the box to the above.
CONTACT US
You can contact us at [email protected]
WHAT'S LANDMARK ABOUT?
Many people who have participated in The Landmark Forum are very enthusiastic about the course. People from all over the world have done the Landmark Forum - Landmark offers programs in more than 20 countries around the world. Over 1.4 million people have participated in the Landmark Forum since 1991 and over 100,000 people participate in Landmark’s courses each year.